


You lose the blues (and you may lose your heart)

by XtaticPearl



Category: Marvel, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Established Relationship, First Dance, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-23
Updated: 2018-10-23
Packaged: 2019-08-06 07:14:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16383701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XtaticPearl/pseuds/XtaticPearl
Summary: “I’m fine,” Tony whispered into the space between them and Steve inhaled that promise, willing it to ease his mind.“They hurt you,” he said out loud, needing himself to say it because I almost lost you was not something he ever wanted to speak into existence.“You didn’t,” Tony replied and Steve nodded, knowing what Tony was reminding him.





	You lose the blues (and you may lose your heart)

**Author's Note:**

> For the prompt "They hurt you" from Tumblr.

Steve felt him come closer, his senses attuned to Tony’s presence as always. It was habit by now, to know when the other was nearby, to read the other’s rhythm just as well as their own’s heartbeat. 

It was quiet in the dimmed room and Steve didn’t bother to open his eyes even when he knew that Tony had reached beside him. There was something safe about darkness, about quiet. Maybe it was safety from his own mind. Maybe it was from the possibility of another word breaking something fragile between them. 

“I think you owe me something, Captain Rogers,” he heard, a soft shattering of the silence, warmth infused into the tired voice he had heard sounding hoarse just hours ago.

“I’m sorry,” Steve replied, eyes still shut and head resting in his palms, swallowing a million more repeats of those words when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

“That certainly wasn’t what you owe me,” Tony informed and Steve finally opened his eyes, shooting up a glance at the man he definitely owed an apology to. There was a gash across the cheek that was now covered by a neat bandage, a burn across the neck that was covered too. A splatter of bruises that Tony would have not paid much thought to cover usually but now had tended to well enough. And Steve knew why. 

“Hey, at least you’re not stuck on the blood anymore,” Tony raised an eyebrow, catching Steve’s gaze stuck on his neck, and quirked a soft smile, “C’mon, it doesn’t look so bad. I’m still better looking than Clint, right?”

It wasn’t funny and Tony sighed when Steve didn’t crack a smile. Nudging the leg closest to his, Tony gestured for Steve to move on the loveseat and when the man didn’t respond he simply swung a thigh around to sit on Steve’s lap itself. 

“You’re a pain in my ass, Rogers,” Tony shook his head with a teasing huff as Steve steadied him by the waist, “And not in the really nice way too, what shame.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve repeated and Tony pursed his lips, hooking an arm around Steve’s neck casually. 

“There was a time when I thought you didn’t even know those words, y’know,” Tony quipped but traced his fingers over Steve’s nape absent-mindedly, “And now I kind of wish you’d forget them.”

“Tony -”

“It was a mission, honey,” Tony cut through Steve’s protest before he began, “We’re superheroes. It’s kind of our job to do dangerous things.”

“It was a mistake,” Steve corrected because he knew, they all knew the truth, “I should have known better. I should have seen through the trap.”

“I should have too,” Tony nodded, never one to falsely comfort when he knew it wouldn’t help. He had learned to not try and convince Steve of absolving himself of guilt, especially when it came to work. They all had their burdens to carry and work through their thoughts, it wasn’t something that would disappear into the night. Being leaders of the Avengers meant that both of them had it in spades and being in a relationship meant that both of them would have to figure out ways to pull each other up. It was a delicate balance but they had come a long way, a journey spotted with trials that had broken, mended, and shaped them into what they shared now. 

Just like the bands they both wore, muted on intertwined fingers. 

“You did,” Steve reminded, pulling Tony closer instinctively, “We should have let the X-Men handle it. Reed-”

“Has a streak of bad luck that somehow manages to surpass our own, so let’s not -,” Tony paused and shook his head before stroking Steve’s chin lightly, “You did what was expected of you.”

“I am expected to be smarter”

“You’re expected to be you,” Tony countered, “And that means taking action when you believe you need to.”

“Can you honestly say it was the right decision?” Steve demanded and he knew that Tony could read the mess behind the conflicted anger in his eyes. 

“Right now, no. Back then? Yes,” Tony replied and Steve leaned away, frustration threatening to push ahead of guilt, but Tony kept him in place, “Can you honestly say that none of us have ever made the wrong decisions for the right reasons before?”

“It’s not the same,” Steve shook his head and Tony’s eyes softened even as he shot Steve a rueful smile. 

“You think too high of yourself, Cap,” he teased and made an apologetic face at the dry look Steve gave him, “We’ll do better the next time, honey. We always do.”

“Doesn’t change what happened this time,” Steve muttered but he could feel the tension leaking from his shoulders as Tony rested his forehead against Steve’s. If he could, Steve would have frozen that moment, holding it immortal and close for himself. It was small, a trivial touch among the more memorable times they’d shared but that was false, wasn’t it? There was no insignificance when it came to this man, these moments when it was just them, and Steve should have been terrified out of his mind at the level of vulnerability he could be brought to when he realized this. He was, on some level, as every man in love was. It was under his skin, a second heartbeat engulfing his own, and it baffled him at times how much he could feel for one man. 

And yet he couldn’t trade it, couldn’t ask for another familiarity than this. Of all the fearsome things, love was the most beautiful to live with. 

“I’m fine,” Tony whispered into the space between them and Steve inhaled that promise, willing it to ease his mind. 

“They hurt you,” he said out loud, needing himself to say it because  _I almost lost you_  was not something he ever wanted to speak into existence. 

“You didn’t,” Tony replied and Steve nodded, knowing what Tony was reminding him. 

“You were looking for me?” Steve asked as he leaned back a bit, looking at Tony and smiling involuntarily at the impish grin that came onto his husband’s face. 

“I came to collect what I’m owed,” Tony slipped off Steve’s lap and stood up, extending a hand invitingly to Steve, “Don’t think I’m letting you escape, I was promised a complete wedding.”

“What - Really?” Steve huffed when he understood what Tony wanted, “Now?”

“It’s still our wedding day and I demand my first dance, Rogers,” Tony insisted, looking at the window before amending, “Well, wedding night, but still. Time is an illusion.”

“Oh, so now you believe that?” Steve asked with a chuckle.

“Irrelevant,” Tony brushed away Steve’s laugh and wiggled his fingers, “Point is, the wedding isn’t complete without my dance, Steven. I had to listen to Thor bitch about it for an hour and I’m not letting him declare all my effort gone in vain.”

“Well, if  _Thor_  insists,” Steve teased and rolled his eyes but still slipped his hand into Tony’s grasp, pulling himself to his feet, “Tony, honestly -”

“How about a dance, what do you say?” Tony crooned, swaying his hips, “I got some moves that I’d love to show ya..”

“Really, Bonnie & Clyde?” Steve laughed but twirled Tony when he tugged. 

“Friday, play my tune,” Tony commanded and pulled himself close to Steve, looping his arms around his husband’s neck, “Now you shush and let your feet do the talking. Got it?”

“Yes, dear,” Steve smiled and rested his hands comfortably on Tony’s waist, moving along to the beat as the song began. They swayed on the spot until Tony decided that he needed to dance ‘properly’ and they both ended up trying not to bump into the furniture in the hall, laughing both at and with each other, steadying themselves when either one almost fell. It was nothing like the dance they would have had according to the plan. It was silly and off-beat, in circles and bumpy, but it was everything that made Steve feel like himself. 

Like them. 

The tune rose through the highs and lows, finally fading just as Tony cupped Steve’s cheek and pulled him closer. 

“- And you may lose,” he sang along the ending the notes, “your heart.”

Steve was completely alright with sealing that wish with a kiss. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm also on Tumblr as @xtaticpearlsblog. Come chat about fics anytime!


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